[The Washington Post] The new $84,000 hepatitis C treatment is losing momentum, for now

After recording the best launch of any drug in history, it looks like the pace is starting to slow down for Gilead Sciences’ Sovaldi — the new $84,000 hepatitis C cure that’s sparking a new focus on specialty drug costs.

Data released by CVS Health on Tuesday show that use of Sovaldi has slowed down since May after the drug’s record-setting start last December. The slowdown can partly be explained by the health-care industry’s anticipation of more hepatitis C treatments soon hitting the market, including another one from Gilead that could gain FDA approval any day now. This CVS chart shows how Sovaldi’s launch compares to other recent launches for hepatitis C treatments.